Commitment
by omegafire17
Summary: Once their feelings began developing, it was only a matter of time before they grew even closer. Nowadays though, being engaged comes with a fair bit of important subjects to discuss. SophieXLok and ZhaliaXDante, rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Huntik: Secrets and Seekers, nor any of it's characters.

 **Rating:** T (hints of M)

 **I'll admit, this two-shot isn't really meant to be placed within canon, nor after my Book Three (or in-progress Four). It's more of a writing exercise, seeing what what LokXSophie and Dante/Zhalia might be like several years in the future, with more adult concerns now within reach :) That being said, enjoy**

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Being the leader of the Casterwills, Sophie's no stranger to paperwork, and yet this particular one still threatened to give her happy thrills. Away from prying eyes, she didn't fight the urge at all, subconsciously caressing the ring on her finger with one hand, and the family symbol necklace with her other one.

Gifts she'd treasure for her entire life.

Just then, footsteps came from upstairs. "Hey, Sophie, did I hear you get the mail?" Lok asked, half-distracted by the puzzle he's currently trying to solve - a semi-habit he did to properly wake himself up, least when a shower wasn't on the agenda for that day (which thankfully wasn't often).

Even in her warm state, Sophie smirked a little as she looked over. "What else would I be doing?" she questioned rhetorically, before her tone softened. "But I think you'd best put that down, seeing as we have an important matter to talk about."

A little surprised, Lok paused as he glanced at her. "How important?"

"Quite."

His lip twitched into a little smile, but Lok put down his puzzle after a few seconds, coming toward her. "Well, what is it, Sophie?" he asked, sitting down - her only answer was to hand him the paper in question, which after a slight look, he took from her and read it over. Only seconds passed before recognition crossed Lok's face, and his cheeks seemed to heat- that got a little smile out of her, even as she easily slipped closer. Lok glanced at her, a little sheepish but growing content as he returned the favor, setting the paper down after a good while, which was now just in the way.

"Oh yeah... _that_ " he breathed, more soft.

Sophie just smiled, pecking at his cheek, pretty much sitting side-by-side now. "Of course it's a big decision" she said, a little teasing before changing to sly. "But I don't believe it's that simple, me changing my last name to yours."

To his credit, Lok didn't seem one bit surprised; in fact, he looked like that was to be expected. Supporting this, he held her close for awhile, one hand moving over her arms and behind her back, but his gaze never left hers. "'Sophie Lambert'" Lok breathed, with a little hitch of shyness this time, but he powered through: "Maybe it's what normal people would expect, and it does kinda have a ring to it... but not as much as Casterwill. And even ignoring that, I know how important your family's name is to you, Sophie; I just can't see you taking mine so easily."

Hearing that definitely made her feel warmer; turns out he'd had similar thoughts to hers, and she kissed him soon afterward. "Well, maybe I would with a good reason" she breathed back, very close. "Thus far, I don't have one other than for sentimental purposes... yet I'm glad you prefer me keeping my family name, Lok."

"'Sentimental'" he repeated, almost knowing. "Somehow, I always thought you'd keep it, even if you worried a bit over not taking mine on. So that just leaves me; do I keep my name, or not?"

The way his voice softened on those last words carried weight; he knew what that entailed, and that made her warmly proud.

"Going from 'Lok Lambert', to 'Lok Casterwill' by law" he breathed, holding her closer- she easily toyed with the ends of his hair in return, which Lok liked. "No matter how your family might react to me, I don't think I could regret it, and I know how much of an honor it'd be- but I'd-I'd just be glad to be with you, Sophie."

That earned him an extra-long kiss, and for awhile she stayed against his side.

"That's really sweet, Lok" Sophie whispered, content. "But it wouldn't be impossible to keep our names separate, even when married; you know that."

"Of course. But on the bright side, it should finally prove I'm a true Champion of Casterwill."

Smirking a little, she lifted her gaze to his, pulling on a slight lidded look. "You _are_ the true champion, and nothing can change that" she said, a little knowing. "Or does the word of the leader of the Casterwills mean so little to you?"

Lok could barely keep his chuckles contained, but honestly she had trouble as well- they knew better, yet somehow this kind of thing never got old. While a natural part of her personality, even if early on it was more mean-spirited, Lok easily adapted and returned fire as if he were a key matching itself to a lock-

-which wasn't inappropriate.

"It's not because I'm not proud of my own name" Lok added, once they started getting over it. "I _am._ Yet you've got this whole heroic lineage to your name, being a direct descendant of Lord Casterwill; that's pretty cool. Plus... well the Casterwill name would be important in the future, no matter what we chose."

Yes, of course- even with them both knowing it's complex, heroic angle included, it's also the truth because of her lineage - that would be a factor. And besides, at this point she's out of legitimate reasons to say he shouldn't - if he's chosen to do this, she wouldn't dream of going against it come the big day, particularly when it made her so happy.

"'Important in the future'" Sophie repeated, heart beating faster. "If I understand you correctly, that has to do with family."

Lok semi-paused at that, not that she'd expected anything else; even if they'd actually talked about this before - which they haven't, directly at least - it's still embarrassing.

"W-Well... yeah, I mean..."

She tapped his lip, stalling him; "It's okay; I'm not opposed to the thought, or it happening sometime in the next few years" Sophie assured, if a bit shy underneath, despite her best efforts. "And I know it's embarrassing. I just wonder if, after your mentions of family, you have any ideas about... how- how many?"

He glanced away, cheeks heated- she sympathized, and made sure to rub along his arm.

"Well, I-" Lok slowly managed, if trying hard not to stutter. "I think that... that t-three would be my limit, Sophie. But I'd be fine, really, with less."

Sophie had expected the difficulty in his voice, but to hear 'three' was truly surprising- one or two was the safe answer, and indeed she'd had similar unconscious, if tentative thoughts. Once they actually got that close, potentially they'd start with one or maybe even two... three was possible, but needed to be decided further down the road. Plus considering her duties as the leader of the Casterwills, and Lok's desire to continue adventuring much like Eathon - if with an explicit desire to avoid any long adventuring periods - more would increase the 'pressure' to keep up a balancing act. Not to say they _couldn't_ do it, all things considered, but they definitely had to start off and learn _before_ they got to such a point (if they chose so).

Quickly, she made sure to kiss his cheek, leaning against him afterward.

"Well... even before I heard that, I didn't have anything too different" Sophie managed with difficulty, own cheeks heated; even with experience during embarrassing moments, it still hadn't become 'easy'. "But anyway, *cough* those are just thoughts; we haven't exactly planned on anything."

Lok rubbed the back of his head, probably trying to distract himself. "And uh, we're not... that far along yet" he said, trying to ease things. "We know all that, but man is this hard."

"Oh tell me about it."

After that, they shared a little look, half-knowing about the embarrassment and the 'required' nature of this talk- she just leaned closer against him, and he held her back.

...

 _Later_

Honestly, before he said it, Lok hadn't been sure what his limit was... still, least he said he _thought_ three was his limit. But even the thought of having _one_ made him nervous, though of course that's natural; he knew Sophie should be feeling the same even with her confidence, because this is a big deal.

Thankfully though, that situation was some time in the future.

Right now though, Sophie adjusted where she lay, which was to say _on him_ \- he was sitting on the couch, and at the moment she's laying along it's length, her back on his lap and head resting on the couch armrest. Even reading a book, Lok 'ruefully' thought that she's enjoying herself like this, as it allowed her to be close to him in a unique way, and she liked to mix it up sometimes.

"Lok?"

A little jolted, he looked at her.

Her expression seemed to soften, glancing at him. "If you could choose what was inherited, which would they be?"

It took him about two seconds to register her full meaning, and his cheeks heated when that happened, fairly flustered. Still, Lok almost immediately thought that Sophie's doing this to help them through things; they tended to do best when talking them through, no matter how embarrassing.

Plus it had been a little time since the earlier talk, so they were 'okay' enough.

"I-I really haven't thought that far ahead, least yet" he admitted, with some difficulty. "Still, if I had some ideas about the possibilities-"

"With or without an explanation of how genetics work?"

He briefly paused, sheepish. "The easy version" Lok said quickly, finding this was helping. "Nothing too complicated, please."

Sophie pretty much laughed; she knew he's unconsciously playing it up in return, but clearly she's pleased too- yup, so her plan's working as expected. "Well, let's start with hair color" she said, a little gentle; he managed to look at her without difficulty. "Mainly, it would deal with both of ours, but it could also involve light-brown; both from your father, and my side of the family."

Yeah, probably; Lucas had light-brown hair, as opposed to Sophie's strawberry-blonde.

She adjusted where she lay, smirking a little. "If genetics are in our favor, there's a semi-to-rare chance of light-brown appearing" she said, a little mild; he was a bit sheepish. "If they're not in our favor, there's no chance at all. Yours and mine, of course, are about equal in chance with all things considered- maybe one would be favored over the other, but even still. And again with the favor/no favor angle, there's potential for a combined hair color."

Lok reflected that if he really started thinking about it, asking further why's, even _that_ could get complicated real quick. Sure it's been established that he's more street-smart than book-smart, but even still, he knew Sophie would never let him live this down.

"Okay. And eye color?" he asked, hoping to move on-

-but Sophie's little smirk stayed put. "Same overall chances" she said, head tilted then. "Blue and/or green are likely, but chances of a third color - either a combination-type cyan, or perhaps a color from further back in a family line if they matched up - aren't impossible. Which the third color will be is the real question."

A bit sheepish, he rubbed the back of his head. "I know that's not all, but I think it should do for now, Sophie" Lok said quickly, if somewhat playful. "I can think of the obvious ones fine, but the more subtle ones I might only notice in comparison, and not in my head."

At that, she brushed her fingers against his cheek. "So, does that mean you'd prefer a mini-version of either of us?" she asked, a little teasing.

"N-No, not like _that_ , Sophie. But I wouldn't mind seeing your eye color."

Her expression softened, though a touch of pink appeared. "Funny, I was thinking the same of yours, Lok" Sophie said, more gentle. "Though I wouldn't mind the pride of seeing my own eye color either. Or cyan, since both could be represented."

Despite the embarrassment, he did feel a little warmer. "Does that include personality too?" Lok asked, a little teasing himself, if partly to help through the embarrassment. "Even though that's not entirely genetic?"

She gained a little grin. "Duh. But are you _sure_ it's not entirely genetic, Lok?"

He just raised an eyebrow, refusing to play into this. "Yeah, I'm sure" he said easily-

-to which she definitely showed approval. "Good."

Next thing Lok knew, she'd kissed him again, which while surprising he quickly got into- soon enough, she caressed his cheeks.

"No matter how embarrassed you might get, you always seem to power through, even if it's just a little" she whispered, more gentle. "I can't tell you how many times I've been a little envious of that."

He didn't respond for a few seconds, mostly because he's surprised by the sudden change of topic... well, maybe 'sudden' was a bit much. "Envious? You, Sophie?" he asked, if a little soft. "Even if you somewhat stall when you're unsure, you're always naturally confident anyway."

"I am. But I'm still glad I got to learn from you, Lok; it's definitely a quality I wished I possessed before."

Lok was about to answer, before she leaned up toward his ear.

"And even more, I hope that it'll be inherited as well."

That got a pretty strong reaction from him, needless to say- he had to struggle to remember that it'd all take time, and such things. Sophie didn't say anything more for awhile, still caressing his (now very-warm) cheeks, but she touched several kisses to his neck.

It did help overtime, particularly since they're simple affections.

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 **Dominant/Recessive genes- even the gist was a bit harder than I remembered lol XD Still, since this is a writing exercise, any potential combinations are still on the proverbial drawing board, for either couple - everyone's welcome to leave ideas of course.**

 **Also, an update: as mentioned above, my Book Four is in progress - currently halfway through writing Ch. 10, word count 76,500-ish words as-of-yet, if rough and unpolished. No idea on release date, but doing my best to avoid long periods of writer's block like last time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Huntik: Secrets and Seekers, nor any of it's characters.

 **Rating:** T (hints of M)

 **Enjoy**

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"You know, I thought you'd giving this more thought."

Zhalia didn't deign to glance up from her book, though admittedly her heart's beating faster; she knew _exactly_ what he's referring to. "I already did, Dante" she said, a bit mild for a moment. "I gave each option exactly the consideration it was due."

Dante sat down, not too close yet not 'far' either. "Hmm" he breathed, 'mild' himself. "Yet the way you say that, it could make me think you gave them no consideration at all. But good thing I know better."

"Of course you do."

Still, when several seconds passed, Zhalia chose then to 'give up' on playing the matter lightly. "Honestly, I knew how it was gonna go from the start" she whispered, glancing up; Dante looked at her patiently, with that little smile of his. "We all knew that while you might've been sincere about changing your last name, I and many others couldn't allow that. Dante Vale is too cool to give up."

A little chuckle. "I don't go through life just so my name can have a ring to it" Dante said gently, one leg crossed over the other. "Besides, what if I legitimately decided the other option is cooler?"

"Don't even try, Dante. There's considering, and then there's going overboard."

A moment, then he leaned back a little. "Well, least I considered the possibility" he breathed, more soft.

For a moment, she 'struggled'- he had a notorious habit of making her heart (try to) melt with implications, as he always made even the little things seriously appealing. Still, overtime Zhalia had managed to become used to that, so even if he could catch her off-guard every now-and-then, she's harder to seriously affect.

"Dante Moon" she breathed, before near-snorting. "Sorry, but it just doesn't work for you. Plus, you know why I _really_ wouldn't want you to take it on."

He looked up for a time, more introspective and serious, even as she closed her book and set it off to the side, waiting.

"Yeah, I know" Dante eventually said, not looking at her right now. "The surname of Moon is part of your past, of the little girl you used to be, and a reminder of the parents you never knew. You may not hate any of that, but they're not part of who you are today... and you don't want to be reminded of them anymore."

Zhalia said nothing, but she didn't need to.

He glanced at her then, a ghost of that little smile returning. "But even if that's true, I still like the name, Zhalia" he whispered gently. "As far as I'm concerned, it's yours, no matter who you are."

"...thank you."

Dante let out a breath, fully turning toward her now. "But even so, me taking it on goes against your wishes. That's some serious weight" he said, a little more soft-

-in her struggle not to glance away, her cheeks heated slightly. Emphasis on 'slightly'.

"And I assume the same goes for you too?"

Slowly, Zhalia let out her own breath, knowing what he meant. "Yeah. I could've lived with my surname, make no mistake, but changing it means something to me, Dante" she whispered, more soft herself.

Dante said nothing, but stood up and slowly made his way closer- despite herself, her heart beat faster again. He eventually settled upon the arm of her chair, leaning against the back while staying nearby, slowly looking at her.

"So" he whispered, with that little smile. "Zhalia Vale."

This time, she didn't try to fight off the resulting warmth- with her luck, she'll be feeling it for a long time, even more than usual.

"What, got an issue with that?" Zhalia asked, sly.

Dante didn't bother to laugh, though he did hide a grin. "No, I don't" he said, mild but his voice 'shaking' with the effort. "And anyone who knows you wouldn't be bothered either, because it's not like you're taking my surname just because it's traditional. Anyone who assumes that would quickly learn otherwise, just like if they assumed you defrosting means you've lost your edge."

A little overboard on 'defrosting', yet she barely repressed a snort about that assumption; as if she'd allow that.

Still: "If that did happen, me losing my edge and possibly all trace of inner will, you'd probably lose interest, Dante" she said, still sly; judging by subtle reactions, Dante was having more difficulty in keeping his psuedo-composure. "You like a woman who's confident, sure of herself, who you can talk with and get something back. And more importantly, someone who isn't afraid to do what needs to be done, even if it's not the easiest course."

He looked at her, mouth working a little-

-slowly, heart beating faster, she touched her fingers to his cheeks. "But more than that, her being able to see the darker side of a situation, and prepare for it" Zhalia whispered, having gradually lost the sly tone; now she's just more, well open. "That's not a quality often seen as desirable."

In the space of a half-second, Dante's only answer was to kiss her- she wasn't exactly surprised.

"That depends on who you ask, Zhalia" he breathed. "I certainly like that about you, just as I like the ways you surprise me. It keeps me on my toes."

"Mmh. I do give that vibe, don't I."

A little chuckle, but it only ended with another kiss between them.

/

He'd like to say Zhalia had no idea, what she'd said about potentially losing her edge/inner will, but he knew she did. Sure, he might not dislike/hate those types of women, but they just didn't hold any romantic interest for him - having an inner will, confidence in themselves, and the ability to switch between many different tones had definitely worked for him.

From soft to snarky on a dime, among other things.

Currently psuedo-snuggling, Dante just smiled to himself, enjoying Zhalia's warmth as he knew she secretly was- neither of them was allowed to say anything for a little while longer, but that's okay. Still, he reflected on his romantic interests; until Zhalia came along, even he hadn't known his own likes/dislikes in that area, at least not with reasonable certainty. Not that he hadn't had plenty of women flirt with him, but he never felt any special attachment/interest, and he'd even wondered if something was wrong (whether it was himself, or the women). And then of course, Zhalia did come along, and suddenly it felt like he was... well, not like a boy or anything overly-cheesy, but he'd definitely felt flustered when he realized things.

At least, enough that it made him a little overly-safe; no attempts to push the boundaries at all, for a time.

 _"And even with that, I was doing my best to prove that I trusted her, that I had faith in her"_ Dante thought, a little content. _"If I were the type to consider what-ifs, I might have pondered what would've happened, if Zhalia chose differently."_

Good thing he wasn't that type, not unless the situation called for it.

"...you know, I'm surprised at you, Dante."

If they weren't so close, physically, he's not sure he would've caught that whisper. "Hmm?" he breathed, equally faint.

"You manage to make my heart go nuts, with talk and hints of 'more', of any kind. And with all we've been through now, I thought you'd start hinting at another kind of 'more'... heh, but you're holding back for my sake, as usual."

Dante considered that a moment, adjusting his fingers in her hair. "Well, intimacy is a big deal" he whispered, a bit gentle. "You can't rush it."

When the expected snark didn't come, he was a bit thrown, though this didn't immediately show show.

"...mmh, that's rare" Zhalia eventually said, half-opening his eyes. "You misunderstood what I meant, Dante."

Even though it was only a moment, it seemed like more... he processed this statement, but the final 'click' took longer...

"I- Zhalia-"

Without making any other movements, her fingers covered his lips- even in his 'shock', part of him was relieved at the 'be quiet' signal, since he suddenly couldn't find the words. She didn't say anything for awhile, but Dante didn't mind, even if he was a little flustered and uncertain from her implication... or where it might go.

"Dante" she whispered, still faint but soft now. "I think we both know that it'll happen, at least once. Not a matter of 'if'; just 'when', even if it'll take awhile... the results should be interesting, in one particular way."

Admittedly, despite his state, he still knew _exactly_ what 'particular way' Zhalia's referring to; one pair of fingers is currently threading through it after all, that lovely dark-blue hair. Whether she was born with it, or inherited from her parents (possibly even further back), thus far it should be as viable as any other hair color despite it being unusual- though admittedly, he wasn't a geneticist.

He certainly hoped it was viable, if unconscious about that much.

"It would" Dante managed, after Zhalia removed her fingers - maybe it's shock, but he did feel a little chill. "Still, Zhalia... nowadays, I wonder how you do that."

Despite not being able to see her expressions, he knew she's slightly confused.

"Before, I was always patient when we were having our moments, even as you struggled to decide your feelings" he noted, vividly remembering all of that. "Then bit-by-bit, it became more even; I was still patient, and you were struggling, but you learned well enough to return my feelings. Now though- now you seem to be patiently talking me through things, perhaps with effort, while I'm having a rare uncertain moment." Dante let out a small chuckle, if feeling his cheeks heating up a little (at the whole situation). "What's next? You being patient, and me being completely uncertain all the time?"

At that, Zhalia made a sorta-amused 'sigh', then finally stirred; she leaned up from her position, finally allowing him to look at her face. He immediately noted that her own cheeks were red, and her expression was a definite mix of her soft, confident words there, and the natural-if-now-subdued struggle in these kinds of moments.

Her voice was still composed though: "You might have the occasional moment like that, but you'll never sink so far, Dante" she whispered to him, fingers slowly tracing his cheeks. "It'll just become completely even; that's what I felt needed to be done. It's what I'm still doing, in fact."

Dante still felt that little chill, but things started settling- he let out a breath. "And you'll do it however long that you need to" he whispered back, managing a smile. "Isn't that right?"

Zhalia didn't deign to answer; her fingers began tracing the hair over his neck.

He returned the favor, not surprised. "So then" he breathed, not without a little effort, but otherwise fine, "Any preferences? Even if we can't actually choose?"

Somehow, she didn't appear outwardly affected, which was quite impressive - only the small pause hinted at what she's feeling.

"Well I'd- I'd prefer no carbon copies" Zhalia answered, fainter. "Either in looks or personality, but especially both. Otherwise, I'm good with whatever... or I will be eventually, at any rate."

As she spoke, Dante considered that - hmm, he believes he might know where that's coming from. "Well, I don't think I'd be too different" he mused, before tilting his head. "Still, even if that did happen, it'd probably be interesting nonetheless. And it wouldn't change how we ultimately feel."

Her only response was to glance away, seeming still; that concerned him.

"Zhalia?"

A little breath. "I can handle specifics well enough, with time and experience, even if fate doesn't oblige my preference" she breathed, heavier in tone. "What I'm worried about is... is _how_ I'll go about things."

Several moments passed as this registered, but when he understood, Dante _immediately_ held Zhalia closer to him- while surprised, she didn't try to pull away. In his mind, he remembered back to his childhood, playing with Solwing even as a younger-and-fitter Metz called over to him... and afterward, imagining a younger Zhalia with Klaus, taking her chance to become stronger, and becoming the person they first met.

After this continued for several moments, she stirred against his chest. "I mean, I know we'll do our best, learn everything we can" Zhalia added, making a sound. "That's obvious, in addition to what you said, Dante. But even still-"

"I know. I know, Zhalia."

"...you're worrying about it too, aren't you."

Dante took in/let out a breath. "I wasn't gonna let it stop me from trying, just as I know it wouldn't for you... but yes" he admitted, fainter. "Neither of us would be perfect no matter what, but I'd sometimes feel like second-guessing myself."

After a few moments, she leaned more up, and he found himself nearly nose-to-nose with her.

"Well... that just means we'll- that we'll have to support each other" Zhalia managed, if her mouth twisting. "Or isn't that the cliche answer?"

Hearing the slight snark did him a world of good; while he still felt a lot of things, Dante began to chuckle a little, just holding Zhalia closer. He'd figured that answer would come up, but true to form, she'd managed to say it _and_ lampshade it being cliche at the same time- ah, he'd needed that a little.

Zhalia returning his grip just made it even better.

"It may be cliche, but least it's not corny" he whispered near her ear-

-he could've sworn she repressed a shiver. "Don't even go there, Dante" she almost mumbled, but intentionally so as to keep things up.

"Well, perhaps if-"

She didn't allow him to finish; her lips found his, not that he minded one bit - it lasted awhile, and they long since settled against each other when it was over. They both knew things wouldn't happen for awhile longer, knowing that she's not ready - and admittedly, he's got some reservations about it happening soon himself - but they were there for each other.

And that's the most important thing.

* * *

 **Apparently, if someone did have a viable gene for blue hair in real life, it'd work the same as any other hair color when passed down, variants included. So since that's Zhalia's natural hair color in this series, it holds true here too**

 **Yet unless I'm mistaken, (potentially) combining that with Dante's reddish hair might make some interesting results, and natural ones at that :)**


End file.
